Radium, a San Francisco-headquartered digital studio under the aegis of president Jonathan Keeton, has expanded its computer graphics department with the hiring of Mark Malmberg as a creative director specializing in CGI. Malmberg, who’s been freelancing the past year, is best known as the former president and creative director of San Francisco computer animation studio Xaos. He will work closely with Radium’s resident CGI director William Opdyke on 3-D animation for commercials and other projects. Radium also maintains an office in Santa Monica.
Malmberg’s appointment is in keeping with Radium’s history of growth through the hiring of senior level talent. And putting him in collaboration with Opdyke on the supervising and executing of CGI projects is in line with Radium’s work model. "Working in teams [of high-level talent], rather than having one person overseeing a staff of junior artists, allows us to perform at a much higher level," explained Keeton. The same philosophy has been applied to compositing for which Keeton and Simon Mowbray function as a team. Keeton contended that pairing top-drawer artists who understand one another’s roles and capabilities brings "a lot more to the table when a well-integrated digital effects solution is essential." Keeton added that he expects to hire more artisans for the 3-D department’s staff.
"I hope to make good use of my experience in high-end commercial work and take advantage of the extra capabilities that Radium has," related Malberg who cited his admiration of Keeton. The two have worked together on assorted projects over the years, dating back to when Keeton was at Western Images, San Francisco.
Malmberg, who has a master of fine arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, has worked in computer animation for more than a decade. He joined Xaos shortly after the company was founded in ’88. The next year, he became the creative director of the company. He served as its president and general manager from ’93-’97.
Among Malmberg’s early work was the title sequence for the MTV series Liquid Television. Consisting of a pair of talking lips set in a shimmering liquid, the piece earned Malmberg an Emmy in ’92. He earned a second Emmy in ’96 as the designer of an ID package for MSNBC. He is also the recipient of a Monitor Award in ’93 for a Sci-Fi Channel ID entitled "Big Bang." He won an Images du Futur Award in ’95 for his work on a sequence in the movie The Pagemaster where the ceiling of a library transforms into a fantasy world.
Malmberg’s commercial work over the years includes Michelin’s "Grip" in which a baby zips about a limbo environment as if he were piloting a racecar, and MasterCard’s "Eclipse" where a view of the earth and sun evolve into the credit card company’s familiar red and yellow logo. "I enjoy figuring out the client’s communications needs and turning them into unique and compelling spots," said Malmberg.